By Carol Spaeth-Bauer
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MUKWONAGO, Wis. — Mukwonago firefighter Jeff Cooper didn’t mince words as he tossed a plaque given to him by the Village of Mukwonago onto a chair during the Village Board meeting Feb. 15.
“I guess right now this means nothing to me,” said Cooper.
Cooper was one of many firefighters and residents who turned out for the meeting, upset at an agenda item indicating the board would discuss the possibility of contracting with a private company for paramedic services.
The item was kept in committee, and was scheduled to be discussed at the Feb. 22 Protective Services Committee meeting. That meeting took place after this paper went to press.
Cooper told Village Board members and the crowd crammed into the meeting room that he had been part of the team that interviewed all three paramedics now on staff with the department. The three are also firefighters and do much around the station between calls, said Cooper.
“Usually what you get with privatization is paramedics trying to get experience,” Cooper said.
Cooper showed Village President Jim Wagner the plaque, reminding him of the day Wagner presented it recognizing Cooper’s 30 years of service with the Mukwonago Fire Department (MFD).
“You can have it back,” Cooper said.
Village of Mukwonago Police Officer Ken Pileggi, who had a heart attack in July, called 911 and within minutes a paramedic was on scene, he told the board.
“For once I was the patient, and it was a totally different perspective,” Pileggi said. “You have some of the best people. I work side-by-side with them every day.” Pileggi asked the board to table the issue and “put it to rest,” stating that the quality of schools and police and fire are the top reasons people move to Mukwonago.
Mark Schroeder, who has two small children, said he feels safe now, but that could change.
“I feel if you do privatize, I’m not going to feel safe in my home,” Schroeder said.
MFD full-time paramedic and firefighter Chris Hahn said he learned that the village and town had sent letters to private ambulance services when he started getting calls from the companies. Hahn questioned why the issue wasn’t on any agenda before the letter was sent out. Hahn noted that the Fire Department has been in existence for almost 100 years and is composed of full-time and paid-on-call personnel.
Resident Thayne Odier said she sat where Village Board members are sitting now when the village first explored providing emergency medical services (EMS). Odier said she has seen both good and bad EMS service — good service through MFD and bad service through a private service.
Steve Bartle, a 28-year member of the East Troy Fire Department, told Village Board members that East Troy relies on Mukwonago for EMS, which results in a higher level of care for his community.
“East Troy does have some history with private services,” said Bartle. “It wasn’t so great.” Two Rivers resident Paul Wegner said his wife has used the ambulance service three times in the past few years. According to Wegner, because MFD was able to keep the proper drugs stocked on the ambulance, his wife did not have a stroke.
According to Town of Mukwonago Chairman Dave Dubey, who wrote a letter dated Feb. 9 requesting proposals for delivery of ambulance services, the Protective Services Committee has entered into negotiations with the paramedic union since MFD paramedics have been operating without a contract since the end of 2010. Dubey said the union was informed of the committee’s intent to gather proposals. Letters were sent to private companies before discussion at the committee level to allow the village and town to get a timely response, said Dubey.
Town meeting At last Wednesday night’s Mukwonago Town Board meeting, several residents expressed concerns about the possibility of privatizing ambulance service. Residents questioned why the public wasn’t notified of the search before the letter was sent, and said they want to keep the program under local authority to ensure quality service. Mukwonago firefighter and EMT Chris Hahn said that when he called two town supervisors regarding this matter, they did not know what was going on.
“If your own supervisors don’t know what is going on, how can we trust you?” Hahn asked Dubey.
“I feel if you do privatize, I’m not going to feel safe in my home,” said Mark Schroeder Village of Mukwonago resident.
Copyright 2011 Journal Sentinel Inc.